The All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Services will listen to presentations from Graham Biggs, Chief Officer of SPARSE and Adam Scorer, Campaigns Director of Energywatch, the gas and electricity watchdog.
The warning on fuel poverty comes as SPARSE the coalition of over 85 of England's most rural local authorities serving 8.4 million people, launched a major new consultation exercise on what makes rural communities tick.
One of the issues the consultation looks at is fuel poverty, and contains a case study from Wychavon District Council, which looked at schemes to improve the energy efficiency of some homes in rural areas. As one of its 'essential public services' in a sustainable rural community, the consultation lists 'a focusing of fuel poverty support to rural areas where multiple impact of income poverty and high cost of accessing services are prevalent'.
Graham Biggs said:
"Recent research by the National Consumer Council found that almost 4 million UK households struggle to heat their homes adequately, twice as many as in 2003, and we believe that rural residents are the hardest hit.
"In the context of the Energy White Paper, we are at an important juncture, and it is vital that we take the Government to account on the acute fuel poverty facing some rural dwellers.
"The Government needs to recognise that the marginal cost of fuel is much greater in sparsely populate areas because of factors such as dependence on deliveries, no access to mains gas and therefore a higher need for propane gas and fuel oil, the higher cost of petrol in independent gas stations, and the greater distances of travel.
"When looked at as a whole, it is clear to us that the marginal cost of fuel as a percentage of take-home pay is greater in the countryside than in urban areas."
Philip Dunne MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group, added:
"Fuel poverty is of increasing concern to many of my constituents and those of my parliamentary colleagues. With the Energy White Paper published last month, this is a timely and welcome opportunity to learn from SPARSE and Energywatch what can be done to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs for vulnerable people in rural areas. I hope this evidence session will help MPs comment on the White Paper."
